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Ohio Board of Regents cannot meet because Gov. John Kasich has not appointed new members

Updated February 26, 2018 at 2:11 PM;Posted February 26, 2018 at 12:08 PM

Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor John Carey discusses the Regionally Aligned Priorities in Delivering Skills program in 2016. The Ohio Board of Regents, which advises Carey, has not met for more than a year. (Karen Farkas, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Ohio Board of Regents, an advisory board to the Ohio Department of Higher Education, has not met in more than a year because it currently has only two members, three members shy of a quorum.

Gov. John Kasich, who is responsible for appointments to the nine-member board, has not replaced members whose terms have expired for at least five years.

Kasich supports a bill recently introduced in the Ohio House to combine the state's school, university and workforce development systems into a single new Department of Learning and Achievement.

The board was responsible for appointing the chancellor until 2007, when legislators changed state law to allow the governor to appoint the higher education leader.

The board is responsible for advising the chancellor on issues of statewide importance affecting higher education.

One of the board's strongest stances occurred in 2012, when members passed a resolution asking boards of trustees of universities to approve a tobacco-free policy. All two-and four-year public schools, except Shawnee State University, have instituted a ban, according to the department.

The six-year terms of the regents are staggered, with three members' terms beginning in September of each even-numbered year. Board members are not paid but are reimbursed for expenses when conducting board business.

The board had eight members in 2012. It had only five, a quorum, from 2013 to November 2016, according to board minutes. The board has not met since then.

The board had met monthly, often at a university. It would receive a presentation from that college plus updates from Chancellor John Carey and his staff on higher-education initiatives by the department and the state.

The terms for the remaining two regents, Thomas Humphries and Kurt Kaufman, expire in September. Carey continues to work with both regents and receives feedback, said Jeff Robinson, spokesman for the Higher Education Department.